Colonel Smith nodded. ‘Did you see any surveillance vans in Gisoir, or the surrounding area?’
‘No. I’m sure if there had been, someone from the Resistance would have seen them. They’re big and they have huge circular wireless detection aerials on the roof.’
‘Not discreet then?’
‘No. Such vehicles are rare and would be spotted easily in a small town like Gisoir.’ Claire watched as the colonel closed several folders and stacked the remainder. She wondered why he hadn’t mentioned Mitch. He’d had her report, but even so… She began to panic. Any minute now he’s going to stand up and shake my hand. And if that happens I shall have to leave without asking him if he has any news. She needed to speak now, or it would be too late. But before she had time, the colonel leaned forward, a puzzled look on his face.
‘Why are you wearing a wedding ring?’
Thrown by the question, Claire lifted her hand dumbly and looked at Édith Belland’s thin wedding band on her finger. ‘It isn’t mine,’ she said. ‘Madame Belland gave it to me after Captain Mitchell was taken in for questioning.’
‘So you are not actually married?’ he laughed.
‘No, sir!’ The nerves on the top of her stomach began to tighten, taking her breath away. She cleared her throat and forced herself to laugh with him. What was the colonel insinuating? Did he know about her relationship with Mitch? She hoped not, or he wouldn’t let her go back to France. ‘I’d forgotten I had it on.’ Taking the ring off, she laid it on the desk. ‘It was Édith Belland’s idea. She said, after Captain Mitchell was taken by the Gestapo for questioning, that now I was on my own, and German soldiers had no respect for French women, I would attract less attention if I wore a wedding ring.’
‘And if you were stopped and your papers checked?’
‘I’d say it was my mother who gave me the ring because she thought as a young woman on my own I’d be safer travelling.’ The colonel’s brow furrowed. He didn’t look convinced. ‘Frédéric Belland’s fiancée was raped and killed by a gang of drunken German soldiers. It was Captain Mitchell and I who found her body. It was after that that Édith gave me the ring.’
‘Reason enough,’ the colonel said.
‘Yes, sir. And I shall wear it until Captain Mitchell returns.’ It was now or never, Claire thought. ‘Have you had any news of Captain Mitchell, sir?’
The colonel took a folder from his desk, opened it, and took out a sheet of paper. He ran his eyes over the page and replaced it. ‘Captain Mitchell was moved from Périgueux prison to a prison camp in Mauzac some months ago, along with--’
‘Months ago? The Bellands and I have been out of our minds with worry. Why weren’t we told he’d been moved at the time?’
‘Because we didn’t know until recently.’ Claire nodded apologetically. ‘Captain Mitchell and another Canadian airman, two RAF pilots, and two French resisters were moved to the camp in Mauzac at the same time. Shortly after arriving they escaped. The details are sketchy, but they made their way to the Pyrenees where they met up with an MI9 chap and a courier who took them over the mountain and across the border to Spain.’
‘So Mitch – Captain Mitchell – is in Spain?’ Claire wanted to jump up, run round to the other side of the desk and throw her arms around Colonel Smith, but she knew she had to control herself. So, although her heart was bursting with happiness, she said, ‘Thank goodness,’ as casually as she was able. ‘When is he expected back?’
The colonel replaced the folder and a dark worried look crossed his face. ‘I don’t know.’ Claire felt her pulse quicken. There was something wrong. Colonel Smith put his pipe to his mouth and held it between his teeth. Claire wanted to scream with impatience as he struck a match, put it up to the flakes of tobacco in the bowl and sucked several times, making a popping noise each time he drew in air. At last he said, ‘Three men arrived in Barcelona. Captain Mitchell was not one of them.’
‘What?’ Claire began to tremble. ‘You said six men escaped from Mauzac, so what happened to the others? Were they captured?’ Colonel Smith didn’t answer. ‘Are they dead or alive? Sir?’
‘We don’t know. They were ambushed outside a small border town by German snipers. According to MI9, one RAF officer was shot in the head and, they assumed, died instantly. Two other men, both wearing civilian clothes, took body shots and went down. He didn’t know if they were dead or only injured.’
Dread flooded Claire’s mind and the colour drained from her face. She thought her heart would stop beating, but she had to ask the question: ‘Was one of the men Captain Mitchell?’
The colonel’s gaze fell on the document in front of him. ‘I’m afraid so.’ He looked up at Claire. ‘Captain Mitchell was one of three men left behind.’
‘MI9 left him?’
‘They had to. They had no way of telling if he was dead or alive. By going back, the lives of the courier, the MI9 chap and the other escapees would have been at risk. You know the score, Miss Dudley.’ The colonel stood up, pushed away his chair and walked round the desk. He offered Claire his hand and she took it shakily. He helped her out of her chair.
‘Thank you,’ she whispered. When they got to the door, Vera Halliday opened it. Shaking the colonel’s hand again, Claire said, ‘Would you let me know if
